ASU-Stanford Preview

         Ah, Arizona State and Stanford…I know when I think of traditional colleges, these are the two schools that come to my mind. We are talking about two elite educational institutions known for producing some of our Globe’s premier minds, who have farmed and cultivated many of our leading contributors in medicine, astronomy, physics, and politics. When their respective libraries and lecture halls aren’t instilling knowledge, students of both institutions enjoy spending their autumn Saturdays performing contests involving a football. This Saturday, it just so happens ASU will be travelling to Palo Alto, CA to battle the Stanford Cardinal.

         Both teams had emotional contests last week, and the positive mojo would certainly have to be on the side of the Devils. Stanford lost in somewhat heartbreaking fashion to U of A last week when Nick Foles threw for like 700 yards against the porous Stanford defense. Stanford has failed to beat ASU since 2005, and to break that down even deeper, ASU has outscored Stanford 120-23 over the past 3 games. That was then and this is now however, and this is the new and much improved Stanford Cardinal.
        The two major players from the Cardinals that really need to be contained are RB Toby Gerhart, who is a tough runner who seems extremely difficult to wrap up. According to ESPN, Gerhart is the 5th leading RB in the Nation. ASU had been great versus the run this week, so this is certainly a matchup to watch. Andrew Luck is the freshman QB leading the way for Stanford, and what I saw from him last week in Tucson was pretty impressive play. His 423 yards he passed for last week was the 3 highest in Stanford history, and some dudes named Elway, Plunkett, and Trent Edwards played there, so obviously we’re talking elite company.
     Other than that, the Cardinals have two decent sized targets at receiver in Ryan Whalen and Chris Owusu, both listed at 6’2, and whom I am sure have contributed somewhat in Luck’s freshman success. The defense for Stanford is abysmal, and we expect to see a similar offensive attack that Arizona used.
     One thing is certain with regards to Stanford, and that is that Jim Harbaugh will have this football team prepared and ready to kick the ever living shit out of a football team from the state of Arizona after last Saturday’s heartbreaker.

WWBD Predicts: ASU 27 - Stanford 24